Adam Lueken
The holidays are a great time to give back to those in need in your community. They’re also a great opportunity to show your team’s dedication, compassion and selflessness. That’s important. You want your patients to know about the excellent services and level of care you provide, but also the genuine care you have for your community. With establishing your brand in your area, you can make a huge impact if you give back to your community this holiday season.
With COVID-19 still a major issue throughout our country, it has made community involvement more difficult. There are fewer events and opportunities happening due to social distancing and large group gathering regulations, depending on what state you live in. And for good reason, protecting the health of everyone is of utmost importance. But there are still ways you can get involved and help others that don’t require grand events. Here are a few ideas:
Toys for Tots Toy Drive
Holding a toy drive in your office is easy and will help make the holidays more special for children in need. Toys for Tots is a national toy drive initiative. They provide oversight of the program and raise funds to provide toys to supplement the collections of local Toys for Tots campaigns. Drives are held in over 800 communities in all 50 states. Local toy collection campaigns begin in October and last until mid to late December. Toy distribution also takes place mid to late December. Participating members of the community drop new, unwrapped toys in collection boxes positioned in local businesses. Coordinators pick up these toys and store them in central warehouses where the toys are sorted by age and gender. During the holidays, coordinators, with the assistance of local social welfare agencies, church groups and other local community agencies, distribute the toys to the less fortunate children of the community. Visit the Toys for Tots website for more information on holding a toy drive in your office.
Local Food Drives
Many families don’t have the means to adequately provide food for their loved ones, and rely on the generous assistance of food banks and drives, especially around the holidays. Food banks in the U.S. are very diverse – from small operations serving people spread out across large rural areas to very large facilities that store and distribute many millions of pounds of food each year, and everything in between. A variety of factors impact how food banks work, from the size of the facility to the number of staff members. But one thing all food banks have in common is that they rely on donors and volunteers to carry out their day-to-day operations. Look for opportunities to help raise donations for food banks in your area. Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, secures and distributes 4.3 billion meals each year through food pantries and meal programs, and leads the nation to engage in the fight against hunger. Visit their website to find a food bank in your community. Holding a food drive is just as easy as holding a toy drive, you simply collect food items at your practice and then donate to the bank. You can also consider volunteering at local food banks to help organize and distribute items. Depending on your area’s COVID restrictions, your local food banks may be in need of volunteers to come in and help.
In addition to Toys for Tots and Feeding America, there are likely many other local organizations in your community that hold toy drives, collect food and have other initiatives to help give back to others – such as clothing donations, fundraisers, etc. Do some searching online and keep an eye out for opportunities that would be a good fit for you and your team. And when you do find some opportunities to give back, do some promotion and get the word out. This will help get patients involved and show the community what you’re doing. Create some flyers, post on your social media and send out a press release.
Again, COVID-19 may be spoiling a lot of opportunities, but there are still things you can do to give back to your community this holiday season while still being safe.
Need some help with your community involvement? We’re here to help. We’re always a phone call or click away to help. Schedule a consultation with one of our practice management experts today!